The Ties That Bind
by sheppardkid
Summary: When a nationally covered case involves Fenton and his sons, one of them will witness something that could put more at risk than they could ever imagine. Are any of the Hardys willing to risk it all for the ties that bind? Please Read and Rate!
1. The Deal

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. They are the sole property of Franklin W. Dixon and the publishing company. I'm just borrowing them for a bit. ;-)**

Okay, so this is my first fanfic ever. I know that it's starting off somewhat in the middle of the story but I wanted to get a feel for things and make sure there was interest in the story before I decided to continue. Please, rate and review so that I can make my first Hardy Boys fanfic awesome!

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**Wednesday, January 19****th**

Joe was haphazardly shoved further into the room. He stumbled a bit before catching himself and standing to his full height. He shot a glare over his shoulder at the smirking guard who had stationed himself in the doorway along with the other one Joe had deemed Shorty. He briefly debated on fighting them but any thoughts he had were instantly dispelled as Tall Boy brandished his weapon. Frowning, Joe let his eyes rove over the darkened room.

"Welcome Joseph." A deep voice called out which brought his attention to the center of the room. The room was suddenly filled with light as a lamp was turned on, revealing a suave looking individual seated behind a rather large oak desk. "I am happy to see that you appreciate the direness of this situation." The man said in a business-like tone as he flashed a set of pearly whites in a smile. Joe flinched slightly at the nonchalant way in which the man was speaking. Calm bad guys were never a good thing. They made fewer mistakes than those you could get riled up.

_Great..._ Joe thought to himself as he eyed the man. "Well, I did what you said and I'm here." He all but growled at the man behind the desk, glad that his voice had come out stronger than he thought it would. "Now tell me where my brother is!" His brashness was answered with a low laugh from the man.

"I am nothing if not honest." The older individual said with an oily grin. He turned his chair toward one of his associates and snapped his fingers. Instantly, a phone appeared in Oily Grin's hand. "Here you are." Oily grin remarked as he handed the phone to Joe. "You may call your parents and tell them where your dear brother is. However," His hand clapped firmly onto Joe's before he could dial home. "I will not take kindly if any hints of YOUR location were to be given during the course of the conversation. Understood?"

Joe stared hard at the man, his blue eyes burning with tempered frustration. _He's good. I'll give him that. I can't risk getting Frank hurt._ _I'll just have to play along and hope I can think of a way to tell them where I am._ Hesitantly, he gave a small nod of agreement.

The other man's grin broadened and he chuckled heartily as if amused by the defiance in the younger Hardy's eyes. "Very well then…here are the directions to your brother. You may dial when ready." Oily Grin said removing his hand from Joe's while sliding a piece of paper with scribble on it in front of him.

Joe's blue eyes narrowed at him before he lowered his gaze to the paper he had been given. As he read, his eyes grew flared with anger and he nearly jumped over the table, ready to throttle the man for playing games. "I thought we had a deal." He stated in a voice laced with disdain, barely keeping himself in check.

Oily Grin's brows quirked in a questioning gaze but his brown eyes showed his laughter. "My dear boy, we DO!" He answered cheerily. "I swear on my mother's grave that the directions in your hand will lead dear ol' mom and dad straight to older brother- alive and well and none the worse for wear." His hand moved in an insistent wave, urging Joe to call.

Taking a deep breath, Joe let it out slowly and began to dial the number he had memorized since he was 6 years old. The dial tone hadn't even sounded when it was picked up on the other end. "Joe?" A worried voice came over the line. "Yeah, it's me dad." He responded in a neutral tone. He didn't want to give the monster sitting across from him the pleasure of seeing him get emotional. _This could very well be the last conversation I have with them… No, I won't think that way. I've gotten out of worse._

"Are you okay?" His father asked in a husky voice, trying to keep himself from asking the questions blaring in his mind. It was natural for a father, especially a detective and former police officer, to want to gather as much as he could from his son. However, Fenton knew that there was the very real possibility that Joe's conversation was being monitored and that any slip up on either of their parts could mean a loss that neither were prepared to face.

"I'm all right." Joe's solemn voice interrupted his thoughts. "Is mom there?" "I'm here honey," came the strained words of Laura Hardy from beside Fenton. He had put the telephone on speaker so that both of them could speak and offer their support. "Have they hurt you? If they have so much as laid one finger on you so help me I'll-"

A small smile tugged at Joe's lips when he heard his mother's muttering. Even though she was petite, Laura Hardy had some fight in her when it came to her family. "No, mom, I'm okay. They haven't hurt me." _Yet._ Joe added silently to himself. He heard somebody clear his throat and he lifted his eyes to see Oily Grin twirling his hand in a "get on with it" motion. Glaring daggers at the man, Joe returned his attention to his dad's calling his name. "Uh, yeah…I'm still here. Listen, I know where Frank is but you're probably not going to believe it when I tell you." Silence settled over the line for a brief instant before Joe started reading off the directions on the piece of paper.


	2. The Incident

Well it's about time! lol Thanks for the reviews guys! Sorry for the extremely long wait everyone. Life issues are never-ending it seems and so I had to put this story on a VERY long hold. But, I'm back and am starting to get into the swing of things again. As it stands, I don't know how often I'll be able to add new chapters (depends completely on when I get the time to write them); however, I will do my absolute best not to make you wait so long this time. Besides, things are about to get interesting. ;)

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**Five Days Ago (Saturday, January 15th)…**

"Get a move on Joe! We're going to be late!" 18 year old Frank Hardy shouted up the stairs to his brother who had yet to step foot out of his bedroom.

"I'll be down in a minute!" Joe's muffled response filtered back down.

Frank rolled his eyes and checked his watch for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past 10 minutes. "You said that five minutes ago." He mumbled to himself, running his hand through his brown hair in exasperation.

The boys' father, Fenton Hardy, was returning from a case in Washington, D. C.. Frank had promised that they'd be waiting for him at the terminal when his plane touched down.

Fenton Hardy was a former New York City detective who had made a name for himself as a private investigator. People from all over the country contacted him for his help and the allure of crime solving seemed to catch the eyes of his two sons. Joe and Frank had followed closely in their father's footsteps, having helped Fenton solve some of his cases while also handling many of their own.

At 6'1" and a year older than Joe, Frank stood a whole inch taller than his little brother. His brown eyes and dark brown hair made him a younger version of his father while Joe's blue eyes and blonde hair were unmistakably from their mother.

Personality wise, Joe tended to be more impulsive than his older brother, letting his instincts guide him. Frank on the other hand always wanted to think things through before acting and was often considered to be the more serious of the two. It was that combination that made the brothers a great team.

"All right, I'm ready." Joe said while he tromped down the stairs with his winter jacket in tow, his light blue eyes lighting with a sheepish grin as he hefted it to show his brother. "Had a hard time finding my jacket."

Frank rolled his eyes. "And you wonder why mom is always getting on your case about your room." The older Hardy admonished, opening the front door and stepping outside.

Joe shot his brother a look as he made his way to the passenger side of the mother's car. Their car was in the shop after their last case and Laura Hardy had given them permission to use hers before she left the house that morning. She was spending the day with a dear friend who lived one street over and wouldn't need the vehicle.

"We are going to be so late." Frank said again, looking at his watch. Their dad's plane would be landing in 30 minutes. It took 40 to get to the airport.

"Will you calm down? We're going to make it. Dad's flight probably got held over anyway." Joe rebutted confidently. His blue eyes locked onto his brothers skeptical brown ones. "You worry too much, bro."

That earned a scoff from Frank. "Sometimes I think you don't worry ENOUGH, Joe." He shot back as he fired up the engine and pulled out of the driveway.

Thirty minutes later, Frank wasn't sure what was worse- having a triumphant younger brother singing his own praises or having gotten himself worked up over nothing. Traffic had been minimal on the interstate, allowing the brothers to reach the airport in record time, and finding a parking spot had taken less time than expected. On top of that, their father's flight had been delayed (as Joe had predicted) so they had an extra 23 minutes to kill.

Joe clapped Frank on the back. "Well, big brother," He began with a broad smile lighting his features. "Since we have 23 minutes before dad's plane arrives, I think I'm going to check out the new burger stand. You comin'?"

Frank shook his head. "No. I'm gonna have a look around the gift shop. Callie's birthday is coming up and I have no clue what to get her yet."

"Suit yourself. Want me to bring you anything back?

Again, Frank shook his head in the negative.

"All right then. Meet you back here in 20 minutes."

Frank waved his acknowledgement as each brother headed in their separate directions. His path took him past the gate his father's plane would be arriving at, and straight to the gift shop. He thought it might be a good idea to stay close to the gate…just in case. Besides, even though he had no intentions of buying Callie's present at the airport gift shop, something in the shop may at least give him options…

Joseph Hardy weaved his way through the throngs of people shuffling through the airport. It was busier than usual for a Saturday afternoon, but that didn't bother him. The burger stand wasn't that far from where he had left Frank. He spotted the large, red and yellow sign that read "The Varsity" just ahead of him. The younger Hardy wasn't at all surprised to see the long line of travelers twisting away from the stand, all waiting to get a taste of what the fast-food joint offered. He hesitated briefly, unsure of the line's wait time. Glancing at his watch, Joe noted that he had 13 minutes before he was supposed to meet back up with Frank. _There should be enough time_, Joe thought to himself, looking back at the line. _It's moving pretty fast_.

He started towards the line. Joe had only taken a few steps when a slender man slammed into him from the side. Papers flew everywhere as the briefcase the man had been carrying snapped open.

"Hey!" Joe exclaimed, glowering at the man.

"Terribly sorry, son." The man apologized under his breath. "I…I didn't see you there." He added as he quickly knelt down to gather the scattered documents.

Joe's anger dissipated and he let out a sigh. "It's all right," He said while he bent down to pick up some of the pages. "Try not to be in such a rush though."

The man gave a curt nod, his focus still on the task at hand.

Joe blew out a breath as he glanced down at the papers in his hand. At the top of the page, in rich blue and gold lettering, was the name of a company called Poseidon Shipping Incorporated. The rest of the page boasted little but two columns of words and numbers, each corresponding with the other. However, hand-written in large black letters at the bottom, were five words that caught Joe's attention.

Chevalier. Friday. Multiple. WDC. Connected.

He only had a moment to read the page before the man snatched it from him. "What? What did you see?" The man asked him quietly, stuffing the last of the papers into the briefcase. His dark green eyes searched the crowd nervously as he cradled the luggage protectively.

"Nothing." Joe half-lied. The man was obviously upset that he had been able to sneak a peek at the documents.

The older man grasped Joe's arm tightly, pulling him closer so that nobody else could hear. There was warning evident in the man's intense stare. "Forget everything you saw. You'll be safer…" He was about to add more when something from behind Joe spooked the man. His face flushed in terror and he quickly backed away from the younger Hardy. "You never saw me," were the last instructions he gave before he became lost in the crowd.

"What the heck was that all about?" Joe wondered out loud, trying to catch a glimpse of the man's retreating form. Slowly, he turned around, curious as to what had scared him so badly. Seeing nothing, Joe shrugged off the incident and looked forlornly at The Varsity. He wasn't hungry now. The strange encounter had his detective senses tingling. Why hadn't the man wanted him to see what was on the page? And what had terrified the man so much? These questions swirled around Joe's mind while he made his way back to the gate to meet up with Frank.

"There you are!" Frank exclaimed when he spotted his brother walking towards him. "What happened to meeting back here in 20 minutes?"

Joe shrugged dismissively. "Sorry. I got a little side-tracked."

Frank's brow arched questioningly. He could tell that something was bothering his brother. Before he could ask about it, a familiar voice greeted them. "Hello, boys," Sam Radley called out with a smile. He was a private investigator as well and was one of the Hardy family's oldest friends.

"Hey, Sam." The brothers said in unison. "How was the flight?" Frank added.

Sam grinned lopsidedly. "Wasn't too bad. Layovers are always the worst part."

"Speak for yourself," another voice broke into the conversation. Frank and Joe both smiled at the site of their father appearing behind Sam. "It's the baggage claim." Fenton Hardy hefted his suitcase for emphasis, offering a warm smile to his sons.

"There's that too." Radley admitted with a chuckle. He spared a glance at his watch. "Well, I better go find Ethel before she has a conniption fit." The fair-haired detective shook hands with Fenton, adding, "I'll be in touch." To the brothers he said, "It was good seeing you two. Try to stay out of trouble."

"No promises." The older of the boys quipped, brown eyes lighting in amusement. It had become a joke between the four since the Hardys had a knack for finding trouble…or rather, trouble had a knack for finding them.


End file.
